Reno's Beaujolais obsession hiding in plain sight
Reno · French · Visit Website ↗
Updated August 2026
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · April 8, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Beaujolais Bistro’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The name is the thesis statement. Walk in expecting a Beaujolais-forward list and that's exactly what you get — a tight, focused selection that feels more like someone's personal cellar than a restaurant wine program. For Reno, this is genuinely unusual territory.
The list leans hard into the Beaujolais crus, which is either a constraint or a calling card depending on your perspective — we'd argue the latter. You're looking at serious producers here: Château Thivin on Côte-de-Brouilly, Domaine Chignard on Fleurie, Laura Lardy also representing Fleurie, and Julienas from Beauvernay. These aren't supermarket Beaujolais; these are the kind of bottles that make Burgundy lovers quietly reconsider their priorities. The gap is anything outside of France — if you want a Napa Cab or a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, you're at the wrong bistro, and honestly that's fine.
By-the-glass specifics aren't fully documented from our research, which is the one frustrating blind spot here. Given the tight, cru-focused list, we'd expect a small but well-chosen pour selection — likely rotating through the same producers on the bottle list. Ask your server what's open; there's a decent chance something interesting is breathing behind the bar.
2021 Côte-de-Brouilly, Château Thivin — Price not confirmed
Château Thivin is the benchmark producer for Côte-de-Brouilly — arguably the most volcanic, structured cru in the appellation. Finding them on a Reno restaurant list at presumably bistro-level pricing is the kind of thing that makes this place worth the detour.
2018 Laura Lardy Fleurie Côtes
Laura Lardy is a small domaine that flies under the radar even among Beaujolais enthusiasts. The 2018 vintage had serious concentration across the region, and a Fleurie with a few years of bottle age is a different animal than the fresh, fruit-bomb Beaujolais most people expect. Most diners will walk right past this and that's their loss.
2019 Julienas, Beauvernay
Julienas can be the most tannic and structured of the crus, and without confirmed storage conditions or confirmed pricing, this is the one we'd approach with caution. It's not a bad wine — nothing here is — but if you're not specifically a Julienas person, there are more immediately rewarding bottles on this list.
2022 Terres Dorées Fleurie + Duck confit
Jean-Paul Brun's Terres Dorées makes some of the most food-friendly Fleurie around — bright, silky, with just enough structure to cut through the richness of duck confit without fighting it. Classic bistro logic: light red, fatty protein, everyone wins.
The Bottom Line
Beaujolais Bistro isn't trying to have the biggest wine list in Reno — it's trying to have the most intentional one, and it largely succeeds. If you actually care about Beaujolais as a serious wine region, this place is a minor revelation for northern Nevada.
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Plays It Safe
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
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Solid Range
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Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
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Acceptable
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Small but Thoughtful
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Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
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Acceptable
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Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
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Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
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Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
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Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
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